By Stefan Coerts

The Barcelona sporting director has affirmed that the Frenchman is recovering according to schedule, and stressed that the Catalans will always be ready to help him out

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has revealed that Eric Abidal is making progress in his recovery after undergoing a liver transplant.

The Frenchman underwent surgery in April, and returned home earlier this week after 40 days in the hospital, and Zubizarreta has assured that the club will continue to fully support the the 32-year-old.

"He’s recovering according to schedule. The next step is a medical check-up," Zubizarreta stated to the official Barcelona website.

"It’s a slow and complicated process but the objective is for him to manage to live a normal life and to be able to start running. What we’re concerned about is that he’s OK.

"We have passed him the message that we’re there for whatever he needs. There’s neither a hurry nor a need for anything.

"He knows we’re behind him and that we’ll take it one step at a time. It’s about the recovery of Abidal the person before the footballer."

The 32-year-old joined Barcelona from Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2007, and has since made over 100 Liga appearances for the Catalans.